New Struggles
by TheCrimsonLlama
Summary: While the world is locked in the heat of the second World War, Eren Jaeger- a German Soldier- has been searching for the man from his past life in the Survey Corps. Rivaille, a French Jew, has been desperately trying to stay out of the camps, but to no avail. When the two meet up, he swears he's crazy for trusting him. Reincarnation AU, Ereri
1. Chapter 1

**New Struggles**

Chapter One

The year was 1940. Rivaille frowned as he stood in the line along with all the other French Jews with him. He sighed when he got up to the front of the line, taking the golden star that had the word 'Juif' printed clearly on the front.

"God save us all." He heard an old man say as the stars were sewn onto their coats, marking each and every one of them. The short man frowned and watched angrily as he saw passersby watching what was going on, muttering softly about it all. He sighed and moved to return to his small apartment, knowing his rights were being stripped away. He stripped off his jacket and moved to make himself a cup of tea, settling down on the chair at his small dinner table. He sighed and turned on the radio to fill the silence, listening to the broadcast of how Hitler had taken over France and was under control of the Third Reich.

"Ah, _mon Dieu. _ This will all be the death of me." He groaned before moving to continue on going about his day, taking a long bath before going to bed. This time, though, he didn't sleep well. The screams of the Germans filled the streets, along with the sounds of their guns. He frowned when he looked out his window to see an innocent Jewish woman getting shot in the head. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. After all, he'd always hated unnecessary deaths.

He sighed and sat down on his bed, holding the Torah close and muttering a prayer with his eyes closed. He wasn't exactly the most faithful people, but he would still try his best to pray when he felt it was really needed. The night went on for what seemed like forever, and the soldiers never left.

The young man had been trying desperately to keep out of the camps he'd heard about the German Jews going to. He sighed as he bade his time through the night, drinking tea and just staying awake all through the night, hiding out in his apartment from the Nazis below.

It was going well, until about noon the next day. Rivaille jumped, cursing as he spilled his tea when he heard the loud boots and shouting pounding throughout his apartment complex before his door was thrown open. He watched, dumbfounded and confused as the men pushed him off his chair and onto the ground, yelling at him in German. He frowned as he was tugged up from the ground forcefully, hugging his Torah close as he was forced into the back of a truck along with a bunch of other confused men, women, and children. He let a small toddler girl sit on his lap, trying to calm her down as they were driven off to who knew where.

They ended up getting unloaded when they got to a sort of halfway point camp. Levi was pushed into a tent with three other men, sighing as he sat down. They all sat around, trying to chase away the bad thoughts by telling personal stories and refusing to talk about the elephant in the room. They all jumped when the curtain was pulled back.

The man behind the curtain had messy brunet hair under the round helmet and wore the usual German military uniform. He seemed younger than Rivaille, though not really by much. The smaller Frenchman couldn't help but notice his brilliant blue-green eyes. He figured that, in an ideal world, he'd want to marry someone with those kinds of eyes just so he could wake up to them every morning.

The young man looked around at the men before making eye contact with him and smiling a bit.

Eren Jaeger had been dreaming about what gone down in history as the Titanic Age. He had all his memories, knowing full well that he'd once worn the same uniform as the man clutching the Torah next to him, the Wings of Freedom emblazoned on their backs. He smiled pleasantly as he'd finally found the man he'd been looking for after years of searching.

"Captain Levi, I've finally found you." He said to the other man with a friendly smile, speaking perfect English, knowing full well that the other would man would understand.

Rivaille's eyes widened at the words, scooting backwards from the German man worriedly. "You're spewing nonsense. And you're not pronouncing my name right. It's Rivaille, with the French R." he replied to the other man, getting the odd feeling that he could trust the man not to hurt him despite their current positions.

Eren just smiled happily to him and gave a soft laugh, clapping his shoulder. "You haven't changed, Corporal Levi Rivaille. Either way, I found you. This time, I'm going be the one to protect you."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rivaille frowned, his hooded eyes analyzing the other male. "You're drunk." He said finally.

Eren blinked at that and just shook his head, chuckling a bit. "I've always hated alcohol." He replied to him.

Rivaille narrowed his eyes at him, his attention being drawn elsewhere when he heard German shouting outside the tent, watching as the male named Eren turned back and yelled something in return. He then backed away, keeping his Torah close when a couple more Germans came in, neither of them seeming as gentle and trustworthy as Eren.

"Jaeger, what are you doing speaking to this thing?" One of them asked in the deep, guttural language that none of the Jews in the tent could understand, making them all even more frightened for their lives.

"He's not a thing, his name's Levi. Or, Rivaillle, I guess." Eren replied to him irritably, frowning.

The two new Germans looked at each other before laughing a bit. "Ah, I see now. Little Eren's getting the desires of a man that come with puberty. Well, I can't say he's really my type, too small. But, he'd make a good bed warmer for you, kid." One of them said with a guffaw before clapping Eren's back. The brunet said nothing, looking as if he was suppressing the urge to punch him in the jaw.

"We move out to the camps tomorrow morning, Jaeger. Make sure to get them into the trucks. We should get them to Drancy tomorrow afternoon. If you really want keep this one safe, put your mark on him soon." The other soldier said to him, patting his shoulder.

Eren nodded and watched them go, turning back to group of nervous looking Frenchmen. "You'll be taken to the Drancy concentration camp tomorrow. Mr. Rivaille, I promised you I'd keep you safe. It's going to hurt, but I have no other choice right now. I need you to come with me and trust that I'll keep you safe." He said to them, holding a hand out to the shorter man.

Rivaille looked down at the hand, seeming hesitant to take it. "What will you do to me?"

"I have to brand you on the back. That way, they'll know you're being favored and pardoned from your crimes." He replied.

"What crime did I commit?"

"You're a Jew. According to them, that's crime enough."

Rivaille frowned and analyzed Eren's face a bit more before deciding he could trust him, taking his hand and letting him pull him up to his feet.

"Now, I'm going to brand you, then I'll let you sit off the pain. I know it's cold, but you'll have to sleep in my tent tonight in your underwear and make it look like we just got done making love. That way it's believable when the higher ups come to wake us up tomorrow morning." Eren explained to him softly as they walked, holding onto his forearm in the attempt to appear rough on the shorter man so no one would question them.

Levi nodded, as he was lead away into a larger, far nicer tent with a fire going behind it. Eren lead him out to the back by the fire, looking sad and horrified about what he was going to do. He handed his old corporal a rag to bite on.

"Can you please take your shirt off, sir? I'm so sorry about this, Mr. Rivaille." He asked softly, knowing he'd never forgive himself for putting the other man through this kind of pain.

Levi nodded and moved to unclip his suspenders in the front, letting them fall over his shoulders and down to the ground. He then untucked his shirt and unbuttoned it, stripping it off.

Eren took the brand out of the fire and let it cool a bit for the sake of the other man. "Bite onto the towel now." He said to him. When he did, he bit his lip and pressed the brand to the small of his back, burning the sigil that contained the old Wings of Freedom sigil onto his skin. He felt his heart break for the poor, unlucky man when he heard him scream out in agony around the towel.

He took the brand off before moving to press ice to the area, kneeling down and wrapping an arm around Rivaille as the other man panted and leaned against him.

"You're safe now. Now I can keep you safe from everything. I'm going to keep you safe, Corporal." Eren said to him softly, hugging him close and gently helping him up from the ground, carrying him with his discarded shirt into the tent. He then moved to gently lay him down, changing out of his own uniform and stripping down to just his underwear with the other man.

"I still don't know how I know you, but good night, Eren Jaeger." Rivaille said softly after stripping off his shoes, socks, and pants, setting them all aside in a neatly folded little pile.

"I hope you recognize me soon, sir. Goodnight, Rivaille." Eren replied with a small smile, watching as he laid down before moving to lay down beside him, fitting his body around the other's and covering them both with the blankets, his arms wrapped around the other's middle.

"Jaeger…. are you spooning me?" Rivaille asked with a cock of his eyebrow.

"Sorry, sir, but if people come in here tomorrow, we have to make it look like we slept together." Eren replied with a soft flush of his cheeks.

"Well, I knew that. You never told me you'd be spooning me, though." Rivaille replied with a sigh.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry, sir. I just figured it went without saying is all. I'll tell you next time, though." Eren replied, rather flustered.

"It's fine. Just shut up and let me sleep." Rivaille replied testily before leaning back against the other man, mentally noticing how well their bodies seemed to fit together.

"Oh, alright, Corporal. Good night, then! I hope you sleep well." Eren replied, still a bit flustered.  
"Jaeger, I swear to God, I'm going to tie your hands together and shove a sock in your mouth. Shut the hell up."

"Right, sorry sir.  
"Jaeger…."

"I'll be quiet now, sir."

Rivaille nodded and remained silent for a bit before smiling softly, relieved to find that Eren seemed to be a man of his word. He let his eyes fall shut before falling asleep against the other man.

He slept peacefully for a few hours before he began to dream, images of people from what had gone down in history as the Titanic Age flashing in front of his eyes. It made no sense, though, at first. It wasn't until a bit later until he started distinguishing the faces. Everything that had once been a blur of faces and images seemed to finally stop at one event. He was in some sort of courtroom, standing off to the side, watching a trial. He was waiting for something, a signal of some kind. When he got it, he moved to vault himself over the railing before walking up to the kneeling, chained figure he recognized as Eren Jaeger. He took one look at the boy before moving to bring his leg out and land a rather hard knee to his face, knocking a tooth out of his mouth and bouncing across the floor. He then continued to kick and knee the other until he'd started to cough blood, forcing his head down to the floor with a foot.

"It's just my personal opinion, but pain is the best tool for discipline. You don't need to be educated by words. You need training. You've fallen low enough that you're easy to kick around anyway." He heard himself saying before everything went black and he woke up, bolting to sit up.

He panted, a cold sweat on his forehead, his brain feeling like there'd been a wall inside it that had just been breached as all the memories came flooding back.

Eren woke up when he felt the other move against him so suddenly. "Mr. Rivaille, what's the matter?" he asked softly.

"It's Levi. With an L." He replied softly, confusing the other man further before passing out and falling back asleep on the bed next to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Eren watched as the shorter man collapsed back down onto the bed. He sighed and moved to lay back down as well, tucking them both in gently. He just wondered how things were going to play out now that he'd remembered.

Levi slept peacefully for the rest of the night. He woke up the next morning to the warm sunlight streaming through the tent and onto his face, blinking a bit. "Jaeger, wake up." He said to Eren, shaking the sleeping man's shoulder. He yawned a bit and stretched out, jumping a bit when he heard the trumpets start to play reveille rather loudly.

Eren woke up to the trumpeting, rubbing his bright jade eyes. "G'morning, corporal…." He said drowsily as he stretched out. "Let's get dressed, get some breakfast, then I'm pretty sure they'll let you sit up with me when we head out." He said to Levi, finger combing his hair.

Levi nodded and crawled out of the bed, shivering a bit at the cool air when it hit his half nude body. He quickly put on his shirt, buttoning it down before putting on his pants and tucking it in. He then put on his suspenders and socks and shoes. He turned and watched as Eren put on his military uniform followed by his helmet and boots.

Eren turned back to Levi when he was finished. "Let's go, Corporal." He said to the other man and walking with him out of the tent, gently holding his wrist as they walked together, more for appearance purposes than anything.

Levi followed along behind Eren, making sure to keep his eyes down towards the ground in the attempt to appear meeker than he was as he was lead to the tent where the German soldiers were all laughing loudly and speaking in their guttural language to each other, their eyes turning towards him and Eren. He kept his eyes down, but soon heard some yelling at him in the foreign language, something pressing against his head. He dared to look over, finding himself staring down the barrel of the gun.

Eren yelled something at the other soldier, making him take the gun down from his head. He felt Eren wrap an arm around him protectively before leading him over to where all the food was.

"Thanks for that, kid." Levi said to him softly as he took some of the sausages and a couple rolls with cheese. He followed Eren to a place where they could eat outside, sitting on the ground as he ate, not saying a word.

Eren ate his sausages in silence, glancing over at Levi every so often. He rather wished he wouldn't have to treat the other man like his slave, though. After they'd all eaten, he led Levi over to the trucks, the other soldiers getting the rest of the Jews into the backs. He sighed and helped the shorter man into the truck, making sure he was sitting comfortably before getting in as well. Levi sighed as the truck started and they started the drive to the concentration camp. It took them hours to get there. When they did, Levi clutched his Torah close, the horrid gates opening. He couldn't help but look around as he saw small children and adults watch as the trucks rode in. Eren leaned over and explained to Levi gently that it was merely an internment and deportation camp, so they shouldn't see anything too bad. He then warned him that there was a high possibility that he'd be moved to Auschwitz later that month to help out over there, so things wouldn't be as nice over there.

Levi nodded and swallowed as they all got out of the trucks, letting Eren lead him to where he'd be staying with him. It was a little concrete house-like building. They walked in and found that it was nothing more than a bit of space where a queen sized bed and a bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink.

"It's dirty, but it could be worse." Levi decided as he looked around at the place, setting his book down on the end table and sitting down on the bed.

"There's nothing much I can do about the dirt, Corporal, I'm sorry. But at least this'll be a bit more comfortable and warm." Eren apologized, setting his helmet aside and shaking out his hair before setting down next to the shorter man.

"I guess it could be worse, but it's 1942 for God's sake! It should be a bit cleaner than this." Levi huffed irritably.

"Well, I'm thinking the soldier rooms like this'll be a bit better at Auschwitz. Though, I don't think the other soldiers over there will keep their hands off you even if I've marked you as mine. Things are harsher over there to people who aren't German Christians." Eren said to him gently, watching the other man curiously.

"You mean, Jews. Don't try to sugar coat things for me, Eren. I'm not some confused child. I know exactly what the third Reich's doing to people like me. And don't act like I don't know what they do at Auschwitz. Every Jew old enough to understand knows that place is Hell on Earth." Levi snapped irritably to Eren. "I might be younger than when you first knew me, back with the titans, but I'm no idiot."

Eren drew back a bit from the other man and sighed, giving the other his space, letting him calm down a bit before opening his mouth again. "I'm sorry, sir. I just didn't want to offend you, that's all. I guess that didn't work out too well, though." He replied softly before looking over at him. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you now?"

"I'm twenty-two. And yourself?"

"I'm eighteen."

Levi nodded and just sighed, wanting to get up and move around and stretch his legs out, though not wanting to see any poor child standing around with nothing to do, either wearing rags or clothes that were far too large on them. His growling stomach broke the silence, and Eren just chuckled.

"Come on, Corporal, let's get something to eat. It's been a while since breakfast." Eren said with a smile, helping him off the bed and putting his helmet back on and leading him out of the small building. Levi kept his eyes down, grateful that he wouldn't be able to see the scared and confused looks on everyone else's faces as his attention was directed to his old, dirtied boots.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Levi walked with Eren into the building that was already half full of German soldiers, knowing for a fact that he stuck out like a sore thumb. He kept his eyes down and kept himself close to Eren.

"So, Jaeger, how was he? Was the little Jew good at warming your bed?" One of the men asked with a laugh, the other men laughing a bit as well as they all turned to look at Eren.

Eren frowned a bit, but just smiled to the men, knowing he had to keep letting them think that he was using Levi as someone to warm his bed and nothing more.

"Yeah, he was great. After a bit of getting him warmed up, he was extremely willing." He replied to the other men, laughing along with them.

Levi frowned a bit, looking at Eren and the men, wanting to know what they were talking about, but not really wanting to either. The way some of the soldiers were looking at him, he didn't really think he wanted to know.

"I'm sure he was. He's so little though? How could you fit it all inside?" one of them asked curiously.

"I made sure he was nice and stretched out." Eren replied to him, trying his hardest not to get angry at the questions they were asking, though knowing it would only get worse when they'd gotten to Auschwitz.

The Germans continued talking and laughing, looking back over at Levi every so often. He said nothing and just got himself some food, going rigid when he felt a large, firm hand on his ass. He turned around and saw himself face to face with one of the Nazis.

He figured he must have gasped of made some kind of noise because Eren was at his side in a second, yelling at the man who'd touched him.

"How dare you touch him? He's mine, you bastard. If anyone wants to touch him, you ask me first." He yelled angrily before taking Levi by the wrist and leading him out of the room.

Levi followed him out, staying silent as they walked back to the little concrete building with a plate of food.

"Sorry for that, by the way." Eren said to him with a soft smile as they sat down on the bed to eat together.

"What were they saying?" Levi asked curiously as he ate the meats and cheeses.

"You really don't wanna know."

Levi nodded, figuring he'd take the other's word for it. He just ate the food and spent the rest of the day in the concrete building while Eren got them playing cards and a few other things to help while away the hours. They eventually ended up sleeping in the same position as they had the other night, in their under wear and just keeping close to each other as the weather had begun to get colder and they needed to keep warm.

Levi woke up to hear Eren and another German talking quietly to each other, the other soldier not paying him any mind. He figured it had to be serious if they weren't laughing as annoyingly as usual.

Eren turned back to him after the other had left and gave a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Corporal. There's been a change of plans. One of the guys who was supposed to go today's gotten ill so I've been told to take over. We're going to Auschwitz at noon."

Levi just nodded to the other. "Don't apologize. You didn't have anything to do with it." He replied to him as he moved to get himself dressed, checking the time and seeing that they'd slept in and only had a few hours to get ready.

They packed the few things in a single trunk that they'd bring. When it came time to go, Levi clutched his Torah close to himself and boarded the train, with Eren. They got a compartment to themselves and he sat across from the younger man. The entire train was rather quiet as they rode.

"How long do you think this is going to last? I mean with Hitler and all that." Levi asked after about half an hour of silence.

"I don't know really. With the Americans and the British and the Russians and all them fighting against him, I don't think it should be too much longer. You never know, though." Eren replied to him with a sigh, shrugging. "I know I'm not really supposed to, but I hope it happens soon. I really hate this. "

Levi nodded in agreement and just kept talking to him to while away the hours on the train before falling asleep for a while. He woke up when they'd stopped, and Eren was gently shaking him.

"Corporal, sir, we've arrived. Please wake up." Eren said to him gently.

He nodded and rubbed his eyes a bit before moving to stand up and grab his Torah and their trunk, then walking off the train with him.

Almost immediately, he wanted back on.

He kept close to Eren as they walked off and into the camp, surrounded by shouting German men. One of them approached the two of them; obviously asking about the Jew Eren was with. The two exchanged a few sentences before the German man looked over at him.

"You may be favored, but you're still just a filthy Jew. You're lucky Jaeger is merciful enough to pardon you for your crimes. Had it been anyone else, you'd be dead in an instant, Rivaille." The man said in perfect French to him.

Levi really hated the way the man said his name. It felt like he was flinging acid at him with just the sound of his name alone. "What crime is that, sir?" he asked to him confidently, though making sure not to be overly confident.

"Your crime is the same as the rest of your kind: existing." The man said shortly before taking the Torah out of his arms. "Ah, that's nice. It's from your mother." He commented with a seemingly benevolent smile. "What happened to Mommy, little one?"

"She died with my father in an automobile accident when I was fifteen." Levi replied to him with a frown.

"That's too bad." He replied, though completely apathetic as he threw the book into a fire nearby.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Levi watched with wide eyes as the soldier tossed his book uncaringly into the fire before growling and launching himself at him angrily, tackling the man to the ground.

"Damn you! You fucking bastard!" He screamed at the other man angrily before spewing even more curses that made mothers around them cover their children's ears.

Eren took the smaller man by the armpits and removed him from on top of the soldier as he thrashed around and screamed at him, too, about being manhandled. He didn't listen though, and just let his former corporal get his frustrations out.

"Jaeger, you'd do well to keep him under control. He's lucky to have that brand on his back, otherwise I'd have him killed here and now." The soldier growled before grabbing Levi's chin and forcing him to look up at him before spitting in his face and walking away.

Eren frowned a bit, but kept his hold on the seething shorter man, practically dragging him back to where they'd be staying, which was a nicer version of their last dwelling. He let Levi go once they were inside, letting the other sit on the bed and cool down.

"Corporal, you're going to have to watch your temper around here. When this is all over and we get out of here, I'll buy you a new Torah." Eren said to the shorter man, frowning a bit as he wiped off his face for him.

"Don't bother, I'll be fine without one. It's not like I'm devout anyways." Levi replied with a shake of his head as the other man wiped off his face for them.

Eren nodded and put the rag aside once he'd cleaned Levi off, holding him close to himself to try and calm him down further. They sat in silence for some time with Eren just holding onto Levi and Levi just letting him.

"Maybe we should go for a walk or something." Levi suggested, knowing he'd be fine just so long as he stayed close to Eren. The brunet nodded and smiled, standing up to walk with him out of the small building.

It wasn't exactly a pleasant walk in the park, though, and they soon both gained perspective on the sort of Hell they were currently in. As they walked, they heard German soldiers yelling at various people, one of them being a young woman clutching her crying baby to her breast protectively.

Levi regretted even watching at all when he saw the soldier wrench the baby from its mother's arms only to shoot it in the head in front of her. The woman screamed and fell to the ground and Levi felt like he was going to throw up, immediately turning around and running back to their small concrete cabin, heaving into the basin of the toilet. Eren came into the cabin soon after him and gently rubbed his back as he threw up, then helping him to clean up after he was done.

"I hope someone comes to help pretty damn soon. This is Hell on Earth." He groaned, keeping close to Eren as the other man moved to carry him over to their bed, laying him down to rest in it.

"So do I, sir. It shouldn't be much longer, I'm sure. The Allies are fighting to liberate us." Eren replied to him gently. "Soon it'll be 1943. I'm sure we won't have that much longer to wait."

Levi nodded and grabbed Eren's sleeve as the younger man stood up. "Don't leave. Not yet." He said softly, looking up at him.

"I'm just going to get us some food and bring it back here. I won't be too long, I promise." He said to the smaller man before moving to leave the cabin, making sure to walk with purpose so he wouldn't leave the Corporal waiting for too long. He was nearly at the dining cabin for the soldiers when he felt a hand clap over his mouth and drag him back into the shadows behind the building. When he was turned around, he found himself face to face with a rather tall and bulky blonde man who, quite frankly, looked like he could easily pound him into nothingness. Beside him was a brunette woman, who was about his height with her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and her brown eyes hidden behind rectangular glasses.

"What the hell?" He asked out of shock, looking at the pair.

"My sources tell me you've taken a Jew under your wing and you're protecting him, is that right?" The man asked seriously.

"Yeah, I have. Why do you care? Who are you?"

"Oh, well, I'm Ha-I'm Zoe and that's Smith. That's all we can tell you about that." The woman replied happily, smiling at him. "We care because of other reasons I'm not sure if I can tell you."

"Are you Eren Jaeger?" The man called Smith asked.

"Yeah, I am."

"Then we can tell him." He concluded, looking over at Zoe.

"We're working for the Allies. They're planning to liberate these camps, but it might be a while." Zoe said to him, her smile fading and her face turning serious. "We need you to take us to the Jew you've been harboring."

"Y-Yeah, alright. Just let me get some food first. I told him I'd get us both some dinner." Eren agreed with a nod and a small sigh before they let him go to the dining cabin, to get the food on a couple plates, then return to the pair besides the building. "Just follow me." He directed before leading them through to the small concrete cabin he and Levi had been calling home.

"Oh, also, I need to warn you. It's been a rough day and he can get kind of irritable. Actually, it's normal for him to be irritable, so it's worse today. Leave your shoes outside the door here unless you want to get him upset." Eren warned them, and took off his own boots with them and opened the door, walking into the cabin to Levi.

"Took you long enough. What, did you have to take a shit while you were there?" Levi asked as he sat up in the bed, frowning a bit.

Eren just laughed a bit awkwardly and handed Levi his plate, sitting down on the bed next to him. "Sorry. I got held up." He replied to the other man.

"Let me guess, it was by these freaks." Levi replied, pointing to Zoe and Smith as he ate.

"Yeah, it was them. But I wouldn't call them 'freaks' just yet, corporal. They're with the Allies, they're trying to help." Eren replied to him a bit awkwardly as he ate his own food.

"We just wanted to ask you two a few questions, that's all." Hanji said to him with a chipper smile despite how rude he was being to them.

"Go ahead and ask them. No one's stopping you, shit glasses." Levi replied to her.

"Levi, don't be so rude!" Eren exclaimed in shock, wishing the former corporal would listen to him.


End file.
